Author announcement: Salutation readers, welcome to the closing chapter of this arc. This chapter will sew up the reason as to why I needed to show Aizen's half, and why just going on ahead would be confusing. Now I would also like to apologize in advance for the adult content in this chapter. This chapter is very metaphysical, very uncomfortable it's presentation, and liable to offend some people, so consider yourself forewarned. Now before, I turn things over to the pre-fic banter, I would like to bring about the point of this chapter and I will remind near the end. Here it is: If you could dictate how this chapter went down, what option would you have Ichigo take? I won't spoil the options, but I want to hear what you the audience would choose. So with that I will turn you loose and wish that you enjoy the story.
(Pre-fic banter)
Blackout2010: And now a short description of some of the character of BTAT.
[Ichigo: Nice guy, good morals, hero of Seireitei, everything tries to kill him and is generally regarded as public enemy number 1 (beating out Aizen)]
[Soifon: Eternal Tsundere, dislikes porn/hentai (especially if it involves depictions of her), technical upgraded to MILF status]
[Senna: We're all adults here, be honest, you wish you had a sister like her.]
[Masaki: Nice lady. Bakes cookies, kisses boo-boos. A firm believer that having half naked men and women work alongside one another promotes friendship and positive synergy. Black holes are her bitches.]
[Luppi: As of BTAT, became officially more manly after becoming a woman in comparison to Manga counterpart. BFFs with Kukaku post-amputation]
[Aizen: Affable, ambitious, inspiring, handsome, intelligent, still the same ass we love to hate.]
[Tosen: Claims his male role models are Batman and Huey Freeman. Has N-word privileges]
[D. Mirokumaru: Depraved bisexual that lives by the formula: Ichigo = God. Ichigo is superiors to everyone else. Everyone else (includes inanimate objects such as doors, rocks, ect.) = Ichigo's love slave.]
[Hichigo: Like Elvis he is dead in his respective universe, but he lives on in our hearts…also he probably does have impersonators at convention, but whatever.]
[Gin: Creeping you out with a smile on his face since day 1]
[Zaraki: Been looking to fight Ichigo since day 1; after 2 years of searching, he still hasn't found him yet (Yachiru's directions have not helped).]
[Blackout2010: Acknowledges the perpetual state of poverty the budget is in. Despite rumors he has NOT died, although he does secretly wonder why he doesn't of himself between takes due to the varying actors stupidity/egos. Believes all Mikos are frauds.]
(Pre-fic banter end)
Chapter 35: Playing god
"Alright, get moving." Shinji waved off the two Gigai clad teenagers standing in front of the warehouse entrance. After the all-night training session with the recently awakened Vizards, the man and his group of exiles were more than willing to send them off to school, while they rested up.
"Tha-(yawn)-nks." Senna thanked, as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"Do you (yawn) relly haf to go?" Ichigo yawned beside her, also extremely tired. He was used to late night missions, or getting up before sunrise, but training all night was a new experience.
"Yeah, I can't have Uryu copying notes for me all the time." She answered, before looking back at the blonde man. "Thank-you for everything." The woman bowed humbly.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Be sure to practice and don't get eaten by Hollows." The man said as he pressed a button on the nearby wall. The device holding up the sheet metal loudly whirled up as the gears slowly lowered the door.
When the galvanized door finally closed shut, Senna raised her hands over her head and got up on her tiptoes. "Mmmm!" when she heard the euphoric pop of her muscles, Senna lowered herself back unto her heels. "Alright! Let's go to school!" she turned around and started walking away, "We'll take the bus."
Ichigo stood there watching her walk away, before he followed after. Chuckling to himself when he heard the girl say she was glad the stench of sweat on her soul form didn't transfer over to her Gigai form.
Apparently to the school they were going.
(School: mid-day)
Ichigo sweat dropped, as he watched the teacher in the front of the classroom grinding her teeth, as the sound of Senna's snoring echoed throughout the now silent classroom. He was actually surprised the poor girl made it through the first two hours, before she put her head down and started making puddles on the desk. He could understand her tiredness; more than once he felt the heaviness of his eyelids, or had to jerk his body awake, after it had fallen into a soothingly numb lull. That was why he didn't disturb her. But right now, judging by the teacher's shortening fuse, he needed to help Senna out, while remaining inconspicuous. Leaning forward in his assigned desk, the man silently slid his forearm underneath the desk and whacked her in the upper part of her thigh with his knuckles.
"Ieyasu Tokugawa won the battle, Mitsuki-sensei!" the woman yelled, as she snapped awake, a trail of drool hanging from her chin.
"Very good, Kurosaki-san." Ada Mitsuki replied over the chorus of ewws and snickers at little miss bad number's outburst. "But I'm afraid we history finished well over thirty minutes ago."
The dumbfounded girl let out a dull croak as she hastily whipped away her saliva, trying to downplay her slumber. "I...ah I meant thee ahh, area of a triangle is ½ base times height!"
Again, a twinkling smile flitted across the teacher's lips, while the snicker grew louder. "Very good, Kurosaki-san. You are correct and I'm glad you looked over the materials that we'd be discussing in class." At this the young girl beamed, having gotten herself off the hook. "However…" the teacher continued; her drop in tone and newly forged scowl, killing the student's prior relief. "Arithmetic isn't until AFTER lunch. We're in biology right now, specifically chapter 7: Biospheres, page 147, subtopic two: The tundra biosphere."
Now Senna sweat dropped as she hung her head in shame. 'Punishment time.' She whined in her inner monologue.
The teacher stepped away from her podium and walked over to her desk. Bending over to pull out two empty pails from behind her desk. The tin metal making a small clanking against the wooden desk. A smirk was on Ada's face. "For falling asleep in class, you are going to fill them both up with water and then stand in the hall holding them up. I think ten minutes of that should get the blood flowing, Kurosaki-chan."
"Awwww! Ten minutes!?" Senna groaned, already feeling the burn her poor arms were about to go through.
Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Not enough work out for you? Well, how about fifteen min-"
"Ten minutes got it!" the girl yelled, as she sprinted out the door grabbing the pails as she left.
The class laughed at her antics, even Ada felt a creeping smile, before she turned back to settle the class down. "Alright, that's enough out of you. Does anyone else want to join Ms. Kurosaki in the hall?"
The laughter suddenly ceased as all the students went back to pious angel mode. Ichigo sweat dropped at the sudden shift in attitude, he could only think nobody wanted to cross this teacher. The rest of the science lesson passed by quickly and uneventfully, with the exception of Senna getting thrown out of the room two more times, only breaking when it was time for student lunch.
The two Kurosaki's had been quick to escape the room, lest they create another uncomfortable scene due to their fatigue. Although, it didn't end there because after finishing their lunch, Senna caught sight of Ms. Mitsuki entering into the cafeteria. After some silent pleading with her brother, the two quietly snuck out and made their way to the rooftop, to get some peace and quiet and maybe, maybe, a small nap.
"Why did she follow us? I was ready to go to sleep." Senna whimpered as her sore arms pulsed in agony. "She's eehehehvuuul!"
Her brother held his arms in a 'what can you do?' fashion. "Well, you shouldn't have snored the first time in class." Ichigo pointed out, as they walked up the last flight of stairs. "After sawing so many logs in class, she probably just wants to make sure you're not over exerting yourself."
"Well…yeah…I guess I didn't think that she'd be worried…" Senna muttered as she pushed open the door that led to the rooftop, holding it open for Ichigo to pass through first. As their eyes adjusted to the change in brightness, the two Gigai clad reapers were surprised to see that waiting over by the edge of the roof was Soifon in her spirit form.
"Hey Lin-chan!" The man called amicably to his wife, pleasantly surprised she was back so soon.
The Chinese woman looked away from the beautiful horizon that made her temporarily forget her guard detail, as she beheld her loved ones looking extremely fatigued. "My word, you two look like you're about ready to drop dead, are you alright?" the concerned woman asked.
Rotating his shoulder to work out a kink, the carrot top answered. "Training was tough, but we pulled through." Ichigo attested. When Shaolin looked over at Senna, the girl gave a reassuring smile in agreement. Nodding to herself, the assassin smiled in relief, glad to know that everything had worked out alright. "Little surprised to see you back so soon, I gave the teacher an excuse because I thought you'd be gone for a few days." The young man informed her as he scratched an itch near his elbow.
The man's words re-centered the woman's mindset as to why she was keeping an eye out for the both of them. Both her desire to protect them and the words of the Sotaichō. "Yes, well, I was given priority clearance." She gestured to them, "After the incident yesterday, someone has to protect you."
The twins took a moment to stare at the other, a similar look on their faces, before turning back to the older reaper. "Us?" Ichigo repeated, obviously confused.
"No one told you?" Shaolin said with mild surprise, as she crossed her arms. When she clearly got no response, she elaborated. "Yesterday, some remnants of Aizen's assault squad tried to make a move. Captain Komamura and the others informed me that they quashed the uprising as I was in transit back."
"That's news to us." Senna replied, as she turned to her brother, "I guess that underground training area the Vizards had is similar to the one in Soul Society and under Urahara's shop."
Ichigo nodded, coming to the same conclusion. "Yeah, makes sense. Kisuke probably designed it." He then turned back to the assassin and smiled, "Regardless, thanks for the lookout Lin."
"Not a problem." The woman waved off, as she directed her attention to Senna. "But I'm going to need to borrow Senna for a moment."
Said girl frowned, "I'm not going to have to leave the school right? I don't want to tick off my teacher any more today…"
While puzzled by what she meant, Shaolin shook her head. "No, nothing like that. Actually, I want to talk to you alone for a minute. It's important."
"Ummm…" the girl muttered as she flipped open her cellphone to glance at the time. "Yeah, I can do it real quick." She then pocketed it. "Ichigo, if I'm late, can you tell Mitsuki-sensei that I went to the bathroom."
"Alright, I'll see you in the classroom then." Ichigo replied, as he made his way to the door and descended the stairs.
When the door closed behind him, Senna moved the latch on the door into the locked position allowing no one else access to the rooftop. "Okay, we've got our peace and quiet, what did you want to talk about?"
"Lift your shirt up." She requested,
Senna's face fell, "Huh?" she replied dumbly.
"Lift. Your shirt. Up. And show me your stomach." The woman punctuated slowly,
"No, I got that part, I meant 'why' exactly? And what's with the secrecy? I don't think Ichigo had to leave because I'm showing my stomach. I do it all the time at tennis practice."
Shaolin placed her hand on her hips and quietly thought to herself. She didn't really expect Senna to just go along with it without some kind of reason. 'Well, it was going to come out either way…' she thought to herself, as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small syringe, holding it in her palm for the young girl to see. "Senna…I…I'm pregnant." She admitted.
The perplexed woman re-tilted her head straight, as her eyebrows shot up. "You mean…?" she asked with palpable excitement. When she received a small confirming nod, the girl squealed with delight as she ran over and wrapped her arms around the nervous ghost. "Oh my god! Congratulations, Shaolin-chan!"
"Ah, eheh," the blushing woman melted a bit, as she returned the hug awkwardly, glad to see that she was happy for her, but surprised by her verve. "Thank-you, Senna."
Pulling away, the starry-eyed girl placed her hand over her mouth, trying to contain herself. "Is that what you wanted to tell me so bad? Oh, does Ichigo know yet!? Do you want me to give you some space, so that you can tell him tonight? Do you know how far along or how many-"
"Senna! Calm down!" Shaolin snapped, shutting the girl's bombardment of questions down. She then raised both hands placatingly. "One question at a time." When the girl nodded, her hands covering her mouth, the captain continued. "First off, Ichigo doesn't know yet, but I'm going to tell him tonight. You don't need to vacate the premise, I'll talk with him on the roof back at the apartment. And lastly, no, that's not why I wanted to speak with you alone." She then tilted her hand, bringing attention to the syringe held between her fingers. "It's for this."
The girl eyed the needle quietly, before turning back to the woman. "I don't follow. What's that?"
"It's a needle that is injected into the abdomen. From what Unohana has told me, it's the quickest and most accurate pregnancy testing device ever created."
Senna's quirked an eyebrow, "And you want to inject me with it?" she asked her hands on her hips. "Why? I mean, I'm a virgin. I've never even had se-"
The woman paused mid-sentence, as she remembered one particular summer night in Soul Society. Her face slowly drained of color, as it slowly dawned on her how wrong her prior thought had been. "Oh…ho, ho, oh shit." She whispered, as her hands slid to the side of her head, ready to rip her hair out. "Oh SHIT!" she yelled, quickly spinning around and surging towards the rooftop door. "I…Ichigo and…oh shit! He came inside me at least five-Shit, oh FUCK! I ah think, think!" the panicked girl's head shook vigorously from side to side, trying to help her remember. A word finally clicked, creating some relief "CONDOM! Condom! Ah…did we use a condom!? Umm, I ahh I think…" she quickly turned around when she was about to hit the door, her eyes closed as she was pouring all her energy into kicking her memory into overdrive, desperate to recall detail, facts, ANYTHING, about that night.
As precious information started coming back to her in broken images and incomplete thought, her eyes shot back open as a horrified looked settled across her face, almost as if she'd been denied salvation minutes before the apocalypse was set to begin. "NO! No, we didn't! Oh, fuck me!" The hysteric girl cursed as she tried to come up with SOMETHING! "Umm, period. My period! When did I last have it? W-was it before then? I-I should have bleed a few days ago, I think…Or was it later? Damn it! I…I can't remember!"
Before the girl could rant herself into oblivion, Shaolin grabbed her by the collar of her shirt as she neared her. Yanking backward on the uniform, the older woman slapped the back of Senna's head with her other hand. "Calm down, Senna!" the teacher scolded her student.
"I ah…Y-yes ma'am." The crouching teary-eyed girl squeaked, as she nursed the spot she'd been hit comically.
Easing up her glare, Shaolin placed a reassuring hand on her sister-in-law and one of her sexual partner from that day. "Look, that's what I was trying to find out. I was hoping to inject you without telling you what I was really doing; I didn't want you to freak out."
"Oh…" the blustering girl deflated, since she single handedly shot that expectation to hell. Although, when faced with the prospect of becoming a teenage mother, with nary a penny to her name, or acceptable job experience, could you blame her?
As the Chinese spirit helped the girl to her feet, she was surprised to see the girl fidgeting. "What's wrong?" she asked, as she had expected her to lift her shirt automatically.
Ms. Kurosaki's eyes darted to the corner, her lips trembling. "Umm…but what if…" she started wringing her hands, while her knees started to wobble ever so slightly. "what if I am?" she covered her eyes with her hands as she bit her lip. "What do I do!?"
She stood there for a few seconds, until she felt her hands being tugged away, exposing her misted amber eyes to the woman in front of her. "Senna, I understand you're afraid." The shorthaired woman slid her hand against the scared girl's cheek to calm her down. "I was too when I heard the news, but we can't run from reality. Let me test you." She gave a small shrug as she smiled "If you aren't then we'll have a laugh over it."
The girl's eyes darted to her stomach, a fear smoldering in the pit of it. "And if I am?" she squeaked meekly.
"Well...we'll cross that bridge when we get there." She assured, as she kneeled back down, "Would you please?" The girl slowly nodded and lifted her shirt, exposing her developing abs. "Just relax and ignore the sting."
Jabbing the needle in, the girl flinched from the shock before relaxing. Shaolin held the thin needle between her pointer and thumb, her eyes fixated on the side gauge, slowly filling with blood. Once it was full, she pulled it out and brought it close, flipping it over to see the result side.
After lowering her shirt and rubbing the small pain away, Senna nervously waited in silence, looking down at the head of the other woman that was staring intently at the medical tool in her hands. Shaolin's expression remained stoic for a few seconds, until finally her eyebrows rose, indicating a change had happened.
It was the moment of truth.
"You can relax. You're not." The woman replied, as she moved the needle away and turned her gaze upward, her free hand tilting just enough to show a symbolic frowning emoticon on the end.
Relief swept over the teenager, as she fell back onto her romp, legs have turned to jelly. "Thank goodness." She offered to whatever deity might be listening. "I'm not ready to be an expectant mother." The girl said, shaking her head softly, amazed at her incredible luck. When she lifted her head back up to face the woman in front of her, she felt a small stab in her chest, when she realized her poor choice of word to the less fortunate woman. "I—I mean-"
"Its okay, Senna. I understand." The woman got up from her knees and gave the girl a hand up. "I wasn't expecting this either and it was rather premature, but Ichigo and my relationship was bound to come to light eventually. Let's just hope thing work out."
Senna nodded agreeably, before feeling the phone in her pocket vibrate. Pulling it out, she saw a text from Makoto telling her to 'wake up' and get to class in the next two minutes otherwise Mitsuki-sensei was going to give her detention. "I-I gotta go!" Senna shouted, as she stepped away from Shaolin, heading straight for the door, prepping herself to book it.
Seeing what she was doing, Shaolin cried out "Senna! Wai-"
Dggh!
Her words died in her throat, as the poor girl slammed right into the unbuckling door, before fall backwards limply. No doubt, a sharp pain ringing throughout her face. "(Sigh) You forgot you locked it didn't you, Gakusei?" the mentally exhausted woman groaned.
"M-maybe Sensei…" came the reply.
Another sigh.
It was to be a long sentry duty for Shaolin.
(After school)
A few hours and a near detention sentencing for Senna later, the trio were on their way back to Senna apartment. Shaolin was smiling mischievously, as Ichigo regaled her on the many embarrassing situations that Senna had endured throughout the day, while said girl angrily swore vengeance against Ichigo for being a blabber mouth and Shaolin for asking the question of 'how their day went'.
"Okay, okay, let's not make Senna any angrier Ichigo-koi." Shaolin requested, as she wiped away a tear brought on by her earlier laughter.
"Alright, I'll shut up." He said, as he reached over and placed his arm against one very frumpy Senna. "I'm sorry. You know I love you, so big bro won't pick on you anymore."
A low agitated grunt escaped Senna's throat as she swished her lips back and forth, obviously giving him some consideration. "Mmm, alright. Just this once." She then smiled, "But next time, I'm telling the SWA about your bunny collection."
Ichigo turned red in the face, while Shaolin laughed even harder. "It's NOT a bunny, it's NOT a collection and it's DEFINTELY NOT mine!" he said hotly, as the girl shrugged nonchalantly.
"Whateeeever you say." She replied, before looking back at the other woman in their group. "Hey Shaolin-chan."
"Yes?"
"Being serious, you said that we got attacked yesterday, so what does the Sotaichō plan on doing about the situation?"
The girl crossed her arms as they came to a stop in front of a crosswalk. "The Sotaichō isn't going to be taking any risks. He's scheduled a meeting at Urahara's Shoten. All of the remaining Taichō's will be present."
"What's the meeting about exactly?" Ichigo asked
The woman looked at him, a serious glint in her eye. "To discuss our plans for our assault on Hueco Mundo." She then turned forward and the trio began to walk as the light changed. "Every minute spent waiting is another minute Aizen gains strength. Yamamoto must know this and that's the reason why he's called the meeting."
"B-but we've only just learned how to use our Hollow powers the other day! We're not ready for battle yet!"
"It's okay Senna." Ichigo said as he placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "The Sotaichō probably knows this and just wants to get a feel of what our timeline is looking like."
"Exactly. Remember you, Ichigo, and the Quincy Uryu are the only ones not affected by Kyoka Suigetsu, but, unlike Uryu, you are the only ones with the ability to basically double your power. We can't afford to lose you, if Aizen is indeed commanding these Arrancar to attack Karakura."
Ichigo shrugged at her words, "Well, at least they're looking out for us. I suppose that's good enough for now."
Senna nodded her in agreement; both Kurosaki's missing the small wince in Shaolin's eyes. The rest of the trip went on in silence, as they made their way up the stairwell to Senna's apartment, until they were just outside the door.
"What's this?" Ichigo wondered as he pried off a small square metal device off the door. Flipping it over in his hand, the back was smooth with nothing on it. "Weird…I feel a very small amount of spiritual energy coming off it."
"Is it from Soul Society?" Senna asked as she stepped around the pair to unlock her door.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it." Shaolin muttered, curious to the strange device.
"Neither have I." Ichigo gave a curious glance to Senna, who pushed the door open. "Maybe it's from the research and development?" He then extended over in Senna's direction. "You think you could work it? I don't know anything about these kinds of electronics."
"Maybe if I mess around with the interface a bit, but no promises." She said as she grabbed the device, before entering into the apartment.
Setting her school things down by the door, Senna flopped down on the couch keen on figuring out what the strange device was. Ichigo and Shaolin filled the spaces beside her, watching the girl tinker with a few button on the side. The tech savvy girl silently pressed a few more button in rapid succession until she hit a red error message. "Uh-oh, I need a password to unlock it." The girl spoke, a frown forming on her face.
"A password?" Her brother asked,
"Yeah, a four character password made up of numbers, like 9-9-9-9." Senna said as she glanced at the two of them, "Any ideas?"
Ichigo rubbed the side of his head. If this had been a word password, he knew a few the Onimitsukido used, but a number one? He was drawing a blank. "I got nothing."
"I never received word we were handing this out…" Shaolin lamented, she hadn't even known such a thin sleek device existed, before now.
Senna frowned as they hit the proverbial roadblock. Setting the touch screen down on to the coffee table, the trio leaned back into the couch to brainstorm since it was obviously important.
Senna's eyes lit up, as she snapped her fingers. "Ooooh! Why don't we phone up Soul Society? They'd probably know."
"Ehhh, well, yeah." Ichigo replied shakily, since it was odd that they'd send something nobody knew how to use.
As the man began to reach into his pocket, he stopped when he heard the clicking of keys. Directing his attention to the origin, he saw the holographic panel on the device fill in with numbers, before displaying a 'password accepted.' Ichigo and the girls leaned forward, curious as to what just happened. The words disappeared from sight and a fragmented blue light shot up from the center of the device, touching every corner of the room in it's mystifying glow.
"This is cool." Senna chirped, feeling quite campy under the strange ambience the lights created in the room.
Soon though, the scanning light beams died down and centered over the glass display. There was a small mechanical clicking, before a see through image appeared of Sosuke Aizen sitting on his throne, his hands clasped together earnestly.
"Greetings." The man said with a small tip of his head.
Her instincts flaring Shaolin wheeled her attention away from the image and to her compatriots. "Close your eyes now!" she screamed frantically.
Knowing of what she feared, the pair shut their eyes while Aizen looked on, the man somewhat amused by their actions. "Really? Is all that necessary, I merely wish to talk with you."
"That's a load of crap!" She snapped before quickly turning to her right. "Keep your eyes closed, no matter what!" turning back to Sosuke she witnessed the man let out a resigning sigh, which brought a smile to the woman's face. He wouldn't hypnotize them, not on her watch.
The brown haired ruler was briefly impressed by Soifon's dedication to her duty; although, whether it was the duty of a wife or captain, remained to be seen. Still, he would get through this obstacle. "Captain Soifon, look at me." The man unclasped his hands and held his palms where she could clearly see them. "I don't even have Kyoka Suigetsu in my hands. That's proof enough that I have no intention nor the ability to harm you."
"We all know I'm hypnotized, so we can't trust what I see!" she retorted,
"This is true, but as you can clearly see, I had one of my operatives deliver this to Grimmjow's last known spiritual energy signature in the hopes it would reach you." When Soifon's eyes widened at the recollection of what happened yesterday, Aizen nodded. Glad, she remained as informed as he remembered.
"Yes, I had to sacrifice a soldier to do so, but it was worth it just to talk." The man then looked down the left side of his throne and reached down, pulling out a familiar scabbard. "This is the blade you fear, is it not?"
"I knew it was a trap." The captain snarled
The man shook his head disappointedly; she was still too agitated to listen. "Let me tell you a little something and you can take it as the truth since Kurosaki-Fukutaichō isn't hypnotized. Kyoka Suigetsu can only hypnotize someone if they physically see the blade itself," the man removed a hand from the sword and extended it towards them. "This hologram is merely a representation of it, so, no matter how hard I try, I could never hypnotize someone not already under my influence."
The man then shocked the woman when he casually tossed his katana away, the blade's image going out of sight, before a rattling clank was heard, from what was presumably the blade hitting the ground. "Do you trust my intention to talk now?"
The group sat in silence, before Ichigo stunned Shaolin by opening his eyes against her earlier command. "I believe you." He said simply, as his wife looked on aghast.
"Kurosaki." The woman hissed tensely, her perceivable anger born of worry.
Ichigo gave her a calm sideways glance, before turning fully to Aizen. "If Aizen really could have hypnotized us, he would have done so, as soon as his image appeared." He narrowed his eyes, "Isn't that right?"
As Senna opened her eyes, trusting Ichigo's instincts, the man in front of them actually began to smile at them. "Glad to see that you are at least willing to listen to reason, Mr. Kurosaki."
"Why are you contacting Ichigo saying you want to talk?" Senna asked wary of the man. "You've already tried to kill him multiple times."
Aizen's gaze shifted from the orange haired man to the purple haired girl beside him. "Well I-" the man suddenly clammed up as he stroked his chin, his eyebrows furrowing in consternation. After silently pondering whatever had been on his mind, the man spoke again. "I know of Mr. Kurosaki and Ms. Fon, but I'm afraid I don't know you. May I have your name miss?"
"Senna."
"Senna…?" He repeated the name, before letting out a small acknowledging 'ah'. "You must be the individual that received Ms. Kuchiki's power and consequentially got caught up in the Kuchiki-Kurosaki debacle in your home town." Despite being seated, the man bowed gracefully, a hand held inches from his chest. "Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Sosuke Aizen, the leader of the Hollow Forces of Hueco Mundo, ex-Taichō of the Gotei 13, and the one that indirectly got you dragged into a war that didn't really involve you. I offer my sincerest apologies for the oversight."
The young woman scowled at him. "You're threatening Humanity. That's not exactly a 'war that doesn't involve me'."
The man shook his head dismissively. "You are young, Miss Senna, so I can forgive your ignorance. Allow me to redirect you to my line of thinking: Reflect back to the wars in human history: How many of them have the tag line of 'defending humanity' from foreign powers?" he chided softly.
"Leave her alone." Ichigo barked, drawing attention away from her. "What the hell do you want?"
"Ah, yes. Let me get back on track." The man then leaned back in his chair, a serene smile on his face that simple exuded confidence. His magnetic mystique only unnerved them further; even though they knew he couldn't hurt them, nor was he even in the room, it still felt like the one in control of things was him, not them.
"Mr. Kurosaki, I must admit, I am verily impressed by you. You are a man of worth." The man placed his hand against his chest. "You are a self-made man. All of your accomplishments up this point were attained through your own efforts with minimal outside assistance."
The man graciously extended his hand to him. "You have survived multiple attempts on your life not only from my Hollows and Arrancars, but even when I pitted all of Soul Societies' might against you. You have been a near unpredictable element in my plans, constantly forcing me to shift them mid-conduction. You went on to achieve Bankai at rate so fast, that even I did not know you had achieved it. Speaking of things I didn't know, I must also extend congratulation to Mr. and Mrs. Taiga for assisting you in falsifying your death, right in front of my eyes."
The man smiled gently, his disposition belying the seriousness of the matter. "If not for me testing out my soldiers the other day, I wouldn't even have known you were still alive, so congratulations for fooling even me into thinking you were dead."
"What did you do to Shinjiro and Subaru, Aizen?" Shaolin barked, her angry tone superimposing upon her worry of them being caught by Aizen, a man who'd show no mercy.
The man's eyes twinkled momentarily, before he shifted in his chair, eyes closed pleasantly. "I would assume they are fine. I haven't killed them or anything." The man opened his eyes, which left the group feeling eerie about his answer. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't consider everyone expendable." He shrugged his shoulder disarmingly, "Good hard workers are few and far between; I can also sympathize with working under someone you hate for a lengthy period of time."
"IT WAS FIFTY YEARS!" she shouted, although it did little to rattle the man.
"You'll have to forgive me; time has relatively little meaning to people that live lives as long as ours." The man then turned back to Ichigo, ignoring the glowering look from the trio for his casual disregard. "To the point of why I contacted you: Mr. Kurosaki, you are a paragon of what a person's potential can allow. I am also acutely aware that we also stand on opposite sides. However, I would like to use this chance to gain your assistance to change the world."
The trio went bug-eyed at what he was asking of them. Ichigo's mouth hung open as he tried to compute what the man was telling him. He contacted him to get him to turn traitor and attempt to kill the spirit king, blatantly doing so in front of a captain as well. The man bit his tongue: either he was insane, he was extremely overconfident, or he knew more than he was letting on. "Why the hell should I join you!?"
The man's eyebrow rose in pondering, before he glanced back. "You don't have to." He replied simply.
"What? You just contradicted yourself!" Senna breathed, extremely confused. First he wanted him, now he doesn't.
The man seeing their confusion clarified. "Mr. Kurosaki, you are merely a very large obstacle in my path, if you should choose to stay with Soul Society, we will fight. I only wish that you'd align your skills with my own." He then shrugged nonchalantly, like a ruthless businessman trying to play a bluff on his victims. "Failing that: Then simply having no participation in my war against Soul Society would be acceptable alternative. I'm not in the business of waking sleeping lions and creating more enemies. You turn a blind eye to me and I will return the favor to you and leave you in peace."
From beside Ichigo, Senna jumped out of her seat outraged. "That still doesn't give you the right to sacrifice the people of Karakura just so you can gain the power you want! We know about the king's key, Aizen!" she yelled accusingly, attempting to decry his words, before they could seep in and do damage.
The man turned his attention to the outspoken woman, and proceeded to counter her words in his ever in-control tone. "First off, Senna-san, allow me to correct your propaganda filled head. I don't need all of Karakura town, merely a mid-sized portion of it. I will further enlighten you in that every individual that has obtained power, true power that is, has needed to sacrifice something in return to attain it. Swordsmen sacrifice years of their lives in order to master the sword with such acuity, that the weapon become little more then an extension of themselves. Businessmen the world over sacrifice various monetary factors in investments in order to have expanding affluence and control in trans-continental services."
Aizen paused, silently enjoying that not only was the girl listening intently, but so were the other two. "The Shinigami, for instance, have the holy duty and power to purify Hollows and ensure the cycle of reincarnation keeps turning; however, they have had to step on individuals to maintain where they stood. The Quincies were one such group they trampled underfoot. Though, they had the ability to defeat Hollows, they could not purify them, so even though they could assist the Shinigami, the Shinigami didn't like sharing the limelight and eradicated them."
The man leaned back and stretched his neck in a circle to work out a kink before continuing. "But, I perhaps speak of the wrong subject. You are after all human, so let me use human history instead of my own." The man leaned forward and clasped his hands. "Tell me do you know of one Adolf Hitler? He sacrificed the Jewish people to political and physical slaughter to become the leader of a nation that he then nearly led to complete global conquest. What about Pharaoh Ramses the second? He enslaved thousands of individuals to construct the pyramids found in the Valley of the Kings, as a testament to his strength as pharaoh; his legacy transcends the brittles of time and still stands as a tourist hotspot in Egypt. What about the Conquistadores of Spain? They invaded the New World and became its masters, killing thousands of its indigenous people for gold, glory, and god; providing the first step toward civilization in the western half of the world. What about the Japanese's -your people's- history? The Sengoku era? How many people threw down their hoes and scythes and picked up the sword? Risking their lives in battles, spilling the blood of neighbors on the fields they tiled, just to move up in the world?"
When the woman looked away silently, the man leaned back in his chair, basking in his oral triumph. "Senna-san, the world is full of bloodshed. Tell me, how much blood is on your hands? How many people had to die for you to get where you're standing today? I'm sorry to say, but nothing but violence can save this world, my dear. When you understand this cold hard truth, you will understand that the god that sits on the throne in heaven, the one my army and I challenge, spares no love for his creations. If merely having a difference of opinion and belief of what is the best course for the world is considered 'evil', then I will gladly go down in history as a tyrant that tried to change the world."
As the girl sat back down defeatedly, Ichigo placed a reassuring hand on her, while glaring at the man, who remained, neither taking obvious pleasure nor guilt in his words. The man then turned to Soifon. "That reminds me, since you and Senna-san are also here, my courteous invitation for defect extends to you two as well."
"What?" the assassin replied, unable to figure out his angle at all.
A sense of foreboding gathered in her stomach when the man smiled at herm, as if he could see right through her. "I extend this to Senna as a bit of a consolation for dragging her into this. She is technically my responsibility, thus as a prospective god ascendant, I should offer her some salvation. As for you, I made a small vow to Mr. and Mrs. Taiga." When he received a cold look of distrust, he continued. "I promised that for their loyalty to my cause, I would try to either subdue you or recruit you to my cause…if it was within reasonable possibility."
"My how very courteous of you." She replied, her answer dripping with sarcasm.
The man let out a huff of his own. "I don't think you should be muttering about courtesies, Soifon-Taichō. I'm quite sure you've never bother to tell them why you are really there."
Soifon's mouth closed as she glared at him hatefully. Ichigo had an idea of what he was really getting at, having also recalled Shinji's warning. However, Senna was slower on the uptake. "What do you mean by that?"
Sosuke looked over at the questioning girl, before looking back at the quiet captain. "Well, I think I'll turn over the floor to the captain. Care to explain to her what the rest of us know?"
The Chinese woman looked away momentarily, as she thought over her words. She wasn't sure how he had come up with such information, maybe he had accounted for it somehow, or maybe he just made a lucky guess, but now that she was put on the spot she knew she was in a bind. Leaning forward, she spared a glance at her student and bit her lip. Lying or staying silent would be worse than telling the truth. "Do you remember what Shinji said?" she asked
The other girl's eyes went to the corner as she tried to recall. "He said something about…" she suddenly went silent, as she hung her head. "Soul Society plans on betraying us?"
Shaolin winced under her pained eyes. "The reason I came with Ichigo to find you wasn't only because I knew you. I was sent because I could keep an eye on you without arousing your suspicion, and, if necessary, end you life at the slightest hints that either: you couldn't contain the power of Hollows, or you had intentions of betraying Soul Society."
"The old man and the rest of the Shinigami fear that which they cannot comprehend nor obtain. So, rather than prompting some level of civility, they opt to destroy those who do not fall in line with their thinking or ability. It's discrimination, pure and simple." Aizen happily chimed in from his side of the connection.
"So Soul Society really was planning on betraying us." Ichigo replied, as he leaned back into the couch. He'd been told to expect it, but it still felt like a letdown for hoping otherwise. "I figured they'd send someone to keep an eye on us, but not you." he then tilted his head to the left, where Shaolin sat. "I trust you had your reasons captain." He said in a warm if professional tone, letting her know that he did want to know why, but it would wait until Aizen was no longer listening.
Ichigo then looked back at Aizen, "As for you, you say that the Shinigami fear that power. I say it's for good measure, it's dangerous. What if any lunatic yahoo could cross the barrier?" he bent his neck low and scowled, "Or wannabe god types…"
Aizen smiled, at his accusation. "That is the price of power, Kurosaki-san."
"Yeah, well then what are you going to do with it? Destroy Soul Society?"
"What makes you think that I desire the destruction of that place?" the brown haired man inquired thoughtfully.
Ichigo leaned forward, his arms set on his knees. "Simple. From the youngest child to the most seasoned warrior, when a person gains a new skill or power their going to want to use it. You plan to ascend to the throne of god and gain all the powers that come with it." He lifted his hand, revealing an open palm. "You already have the Hollows under your control, the Quincies are long extinct, and regular human beings won't pose a challenge, so the only way to test if you've gotten stronger would be against the Shinigami."
Sosuke chuckled to himself, surprised by the young man's insight. Now he knew why he was such a dangerous foe. "Perceptive. I commend you for it. Yes, I would probably test my new found abilities; however, where you are wrong, and what makes the fundamental difference between me and the people in charge of Soul Society, is that I am only going to use it on the individuals who will try to oppose and buckle my right to rule. I choose to enforce submission, they commit to wholesale slaughter."
Sosuke leaned back and glanced away from his audience and to something on his side. He let out a low hum as he seemed to register something. "Time is short and I've only realized: Despite my rhetoric, I've given you very little incentive to join my side, Kurosaki-san." The man turned the Shinigami and bowed, "My apologies, it's not often that I get truly so enraptured in conversation."
Leaning back in his chair, he steeped his fingers against one another, smiling mischievously. "Kurosaki-san, if you should so choose to join me, I give my solemn word to treat you and your kind with integrity and respect."
Ichigo scoffed as he leaned to one side. "Like that means a lot. You betrayed the hell out of everyone in Soul Society AND tried to kill me repeatedly, so sorry if your word doesn't mean much to me."
"I understand your skepticism, it's not exactly unwarranted. However, I speak honestly when I say that I understand and appreciate the similarities between us."
Now Ichigo jumped out of his seat. "THERE ARE NO SIMILARITIES!" he yelled hotly, "You had it all! You had people who respected and looked up to you, who wanted to be like you! You had the power and authority to help others, but you chose yourself! You caused the death of thousands of individuals, including my friends! So don't tell me there are any FUCKING similarities between us!"
The room went deathly silent at the man declaration. The two women slowly turned from Ichigo to Sosuke Aizen, who looked both impressed and surprised. The man sat there for a few seconds astonished, before his body started to shake and a low chuckle escaped his lips that gradually got louder. "What's so funny?" Ichigo hissed.
The man laughed just a little bit harder as he brought a hand to his face, wiping a joyful tear from his eye. "You will have to forgive me. In my old age, I oft forget the passion of youth." The man then rested his cheek against his fist, bemused by the situation. "Mr. Kurosaki, I truly must say, you astound me, and for that I will give you a truth about myself. I didn't betray the people of Soul Society; rather, I learned what I could about them and then made a choice in my life. I chose to ask questions, I chose to think for myself, I chose to align with those who have lived lives similar to me. My life, perhaps all life in general, is just a very complicated version of an age old question: Is it them or us, us or them, who do you side with?"
The man then closed his eyes and tipped his head ever so slightly. "That is why despite our past animosity I am willing to extend my invitation to you. I acknowledge and respect you as a person. I feel were we not constantly coming to blows and cross purposes that we could become very close friends. That is also the reason why my incentive to persuade you to follow me is something beyond mere trinkets or monetary solutions."
"And what's that?" Ichigo asked,
The man opened his eyes and stared unflinchingly at the man. "As a token of appreciation for your assistance, I will return your mother back to life."
Ichigo fist clenched tightly at the mention of his and Senna's mother, who was lost to a Hollow. "Don't fuck with me Ai-"
"I am not fucking with you, Kurosaki-san." Aizen interrupted, "I offer this out of the sincerity of my heart." The man calmly shook his head, stifling the young man's anger. Now it was time for him to lie a bit. "From what I heard, your mother was killed by a Hollow sometime after you joined Captain Soifon's roster. It was a most unfortunate tragedy and the world is made lesser with her passing."
Ichigo stared at him wordlessly, but still glowering with anger. "So why bring it up? If you could bring back the dead, you wouldn't need me in the first place."
Aizen sighed; the boy was as perceptive as he was wary of him, still, he had considered that possibility and prepared accordingly. "I can only use it once, obviously I would use it on myself; however, I am the only one with the ability and knowledge to do so. And with the requirement of the target being dead, I'm not a very good candidate. However, if proving my sincerity and making you happy would convince you to join hands with me, then I am willing to sacrifice one spell to meet you halfway."
When Ichigo bowed his head, obviously thinking his words over, Sosuke decided now was the time to press the time limit. "I'm afraid that is all the time we will have to discuss. I have dispatched an emissary to the human world, which this device will lead you to. You will have until midnight, five hours from now, to provide them an answer for what you will do. Stay with Soul Society, Leave the conflict, or Join me. I am not asking much and offer genuine incentives for all three of you to consider."
The man looked at Shaolin. "Your family and their freedom. The ability to be able to live without oppressive expectation or forced servitude." His eyes darted over to Senna. "The ability to protect the people you hold so dear, from a god that has abandoned them to self-destruction." His eyes then swiveled to the orange haired man in the middle, "And a place to live without fear of others for being different. To be able to stand up for what you believe in."
The man leaned back in his chair and looked over them all with quiet determination. "I hope you consider my words and reflect on the position you are in. Farewell."
The feed then cut, as the light created image retreated into the hologram projector. Senna leaned over to it and saw that there was an image of the city, with a green dot in the center and a red dot in the distance. Looking at it closely, she could see that it was coming from her old middle school.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Ichigo resting his head in his hands, obviously deep in thought. Shaolin was gritting her teeth, unsure of what to say to the man. The two girls watched the man as he sat there, before he pushed himself off the couch, his eyes obscured by his hair. "I'm going to the roof, I need to think."
The man slowly trudged around Senna and walked to the door before disappearing, her body shaking as he slammed the door shut. The young woman sulked her head, unable to really say anything. She also had a lot on her mind regarding the situation and Aizen's argument.
Turning her head, she saw Shaolin, also lost in thought, trying to rationalize something. Senna had remembered what Aizen had insinuated about Soul Society betraying them. In all honesty, she didn't really put any stock in the warning. She thought it was utter bull that anyone hurting for allies as badly as Soul Society would be willing to betray another when everything was on the line. Everything she had seen so far rationalized her situation. Soul Society and the Soul Reapers were the good guy caught up in a desperate struggle to protect mankind from both Aizen and the Hollows.
However, even though everything she had seen pointed to that conclusion, she could not turn a blind eye to one particular part of her prior thought. 'Were'. Past tense, no longer true. From Aizen's perspective: Soul Society wasn't the good guys. They were just maintainers of the status quo, servants to a god…that didn't care.
The Vizard dug her teeth into her lower lip, Aizen's argument clear in her mind. If what Aizen said was true, that the Spirit King, God, was as omnipotent as human and Shinigami claimed, then Aizen subtly unveiled a horrific truth to her. Every tragedy people endured, every atrocity that had ever been committed, the Quincy genocide, Aizen's rebellion, Masaki's death, every single one of these events was in the Spirit King's hands!
…and s/he did nothing to stop them.
"Shaolin-chan…" the girl whispered, her voice barely audible. As the silent captain's eyes drifted in her direction, she saw the doubts in her mind.
"Yes, Senna." Came the throaty reply.
"What Aizen said…it wasn't the truth was it?" she asked quietly, truly feeling what she was: a helpless kid in way over her head. "Was he just twisting things?"
The captain looked away from her and stared at her reflection in the television for a few seconds. She let out a sigh as she leaned back into the couch, still tense. "There was a great deal of truth to his words. I can't deny that."
That sank her spirit a bit, especially the part where Shaolin had confirmed to be their overseer, which speaking of. "Shaolin…sensei, why didn't you tell us about this."
"It didn't occur to me!" the woman snapped, causing the girl to flinch away at the sudden change in attitude. Seeing what she had done, the captain sighed again, her expression apologetic. "Sorry…" She offered softly, softening her features as she looked into her student's uncertain face. 'Still the idealist…' she thought to herself whimsically.
Getting up from the couch, she extended her hand to her. The young landlady looked confused, before she got up and took the hand."You need a haircut." Shaolin informed; a strange shift in conversation. The woman then led her over to the dinner table and seated the girl in a chair, before releasing her Zanpaktou Suzumebachi. "Eyes forward." She commanded when the girl looked over her shoulders; her confusion and desire for an answer becoming more evident by the minute. Doing as she said, Senna returned her attention to the wall in front of her, while Soifon ran her hands through her hair undoing any stylistics. "Let's talk." Soifon's voice said to the girl, her tone obviously implying to her original question.
"Why did you bring up the haircut thing?" her student asked immediately, as she felt the woman straighten her hair to where it ran smoothly with gravity.
When her hair was finally in it's natural state, Soifon stopped moving her hands, placing them on the woman's shoulder. "Because either way we'll be fighting something in the near future. It wouldn't do to have long hair." She answered coolly, her sharp golden needle resting against the calm Vizard's shoulder blade. "…besides, cutting you hair will take time, about as long as it would take to explain my reason." the woman added, revealing her true intention.
Alleviated by her friend's response, Senna kept patient knowing if given space she'd tell her everything. "And you know how to cut hair?" she asked quizzically.
"No. Not like a professional. I simply plan on straightening your hair back and then using Suzumebachi to cut a straight line. Your hair is nearly at the base of your neck," Senna felt the woman place her hand against the bottom of her jaw. "I plan to shorten it to about here, using simple field maintenance."
"Okay." Senna replied, as she slumped her shoulders, acceptant of her offer. "So…"
Raising her needle against a small tuft of purple hair, the assassin started to slide her fingers back and forth in a slow horizontal cut. "Yamamoto fears the power of Hollows, so when Kisuke Urahara proposed that you two be allowed to harness it to combat Aizen, he decided to quietly take certain measures. Shortly after dismissing Urahara from his office, the head captain contacted me and I requested I come to him for a series of secret missions."
"Does Yamamoto know who I am then?" Senna asked quietly, as she felt some of her hair fall down unto her shoulder.
Soifon brushed off the hair that had fell, before rounding up another small clump. "No, he doesn't. He would have made it a point in telling me about that."
"Mmm." The girl grunted taking some relief at getting some good news today. "So back to what you were saying."
Shaolin bowed her head to think, her hands pausing momentarily, before continuing in her cutting. "I was selected for the mission because I could approach you both without raising your suspicion. What Yamamoto didn't know was that I would…I would do anything for you and Ichigo. I undertook the mission to keep an eye on you because I knew you two would never betray Soul Society."
When the woman stopped moving her hands again, Senna could tell she was holding something in. "Well…that's part of the reason." Senna remained still, as the captain resumed her work. "The real reason was that I wasn't going to let anyone hurt you or Ichigo-koi. If I had backed away and let someone else take my spot…or if I had been who I used to be, you two would have been dead, shortly after he showed up trying to tempt you into joining him, slain because I or someone else believed they witnessed even the briefest of doubts or sympathy to Aizen's cause."
The woman stopped and wrapped her arms in a protective circle around Senna's shoulder, resting her chin on the top of her head. "I did the exact same thing to you as Shinjiro and Subaru did for me; shouldering the responsibility and keeping you in the dark. Protecting you, even against your will." A small chuckle escaped her. "I suppose I'm selfish that way."
"No…" Senna muttered as she touched one of Chinese girl's forearms with her hand. "You did what you thought was right…"
Another chuckle escaped the older woman, amused by the idea. "Thank-you; although, the matter of 'right' and 'wrong' is a concept I really don't want to think about anymore." She then pulled back and started stroking away at the remaining hairline, evening it out and flattening it. She stopped and admired her handiwork, before patting her shoulder. "There. All done."
Senna stood up and smiled as she turned to her friend. "Thank-you." She replied before growing serious. "So, what now?" she then paused and looked in the direction of the door Ichigo had left through earlier. "Or I guess what do you think Ichigo will do?"
The woman followed her trail of sight. In all honesty, she didn't really know what Ichigo would choose, but she did know that he would need help in deciding. "I don't know. This is his decision to make." She then looked at the shorter haired girl. "And yours."
Catching her intent, Senna glanced at her worriedly. "What about you?"
A thin smile graced her lips, "Whatever, Ichigo chooses, I will follow. I am merely going to make sure he understands all of the choices in front of him, before he truly commits to a particular path."
Sitting back down in the chair, she couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "You really think Aizen's words got to him?" She asked, despite knowing the answer; for all that he was, and all that he survived, at the end of the day Ichigo was still human, even if she had trouble remembering that.
"Aizen's words would get to anyone, Senna; because, he spoke the truth. While I am a bit leery about some things, especially the whole raising the dead promise of his, he makes a point." The woman crossed her arms and continued in her solemn tone. "I've been a captain longer than you've been alive. I've seen and participated in many atrocities, if the spirit king is worth my fealty, worth putting my life on the line to protect, then he in turn should be willing to protect those underneath him, something I have failed to see, if Aizen's rebellion and human history is any indication."
Senna seemed to deflate at her words. That was exactly the same truth Aizen had told her and the one that bothered her the most. "But he's still going to sacrifice the people of Karakura…my friends…" the woman's lips shifted uncomfortably. "Is it possible to bring them back, if he's the king?" she asked clearly uncertain. "Or is that just a trick to get us to work for him?"
"I don't know Senna." Shaolin said quietly, as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Perhaps, it's possible. The cycle of soul reincarnation is the closest thing that I can think of that actually has the ability to 'resurrect the dead' consistently. However, the main problem with using the cycle is that it far too slow, since it was designed to give each soul returned to it an equal amount of life comparative to the other souls in the system. But I suppose if one could manipulate the cycle speed of a particular soul in someway, speeding up their rebirth time, then the idea of 'instantaneous' resurrection isn't too far-fetched an idea."
"Then it could work? So Aizen's offer is genuine?"
"I couldn't tell you if it's genuine or not. That requires the power of future-sight, an ability no one possesses." She then removed her hands of her shoulder and clasped her hands instead. "I think it would behoove you to stop thinking in term of 'right' and 'wrong', 'good' and 'evil', Senna. The most we can do is make the decision that we are prepared to live with."
"What if I can't make a decision?"
"Indecision IS still a decision, but nothing good ever comes of it, only tragedies." She replied sagely.
When Senna nodded her head showing she understood her warning, Soifon pulled her hands away and started walking towards the door. When her hand touched the doorknob, she stopped when her sole student called out to her. Looking back over her shoulder, the Chinese woman waited patiently for her student sitting across the room to speak her mind.
"Ummm…" the girl shifted nervously from foot to foot, "what if my decision is…different…from yours?"
Shaolin lifted her gaze upwards, thinking over her words, before smiling as she turned back to her fellow clansmen. "Then stand by your decision, Senna. Even if we fight each other, there will never be any hard feelings." The woman walked back over to the sitting girl and stroked her cheek lovingly, a small blush on her face. "We're family." She said as she leaned in, "We love you." And pressed her lips against the teenager.
After a moment's pause, the young girl leaned into the kiss, yearning more of the older woman's lips. Sliding her tongue into her senior's mouth, she savored her taste as the woman giggled and renewed her assault. The two made out for a few more seconds, before the captain pulled away licking her lips with red cheeks.
"Was that supposed to sway me?" Senna asked demurely, having enjoyed the kiss quite a bit.
"Maybe…" she answered cheekily, as she hugged the woman tenderly, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "Just kidding. Promise me you'll think hard okay, Senna?"
The purple haired girl nodded softly to herself, slipping her arms around Soifon's hips and returning the embrace. "I promise."
Breaking away, the woman then turned and left the woman's apartment, giving her space to make her own decision.
(Earlier: Ichigo)
After climbing up the ladder that lead to the roof, the young Shinigami settled to resting his arms against the steel railing, his head hung low as he stewed in his thoughts, absentmindedly watching the headlights of cars go by in the street below. The buildings dotting the sprawling skyline lit up one by one, fighting against the encroaching darkness of night, defiant in its futile endeavor of keeping the city bright in absence of the sun, each light acting as a taunting reminder to the Shinigami of the passing seconds that counted down the hours and then minutes to midnight.
The man exhaled solemnly as he thought over the impossible decision. For the first time, he was at a loss. Up until now everything made sense, the path he walked was always clear to him, the boundaries and lines he would and wouldn't crossed defined, but now he was at a pause, his mind full of doubt. What Aizen had said, the atrocities he had committed, the promises he gave, the flaws he acknowledged, they all echoed in his mind. He was a man who knew the damage his actions would cause, how it would affect others around him, and he freely confessed to them, owning each one of his deeds. A stark contrast to the organization he had worked his entire life for.
Ichigo was no fool; he knew Soul Society and the Shinigami were not the angelic saints they tried passing themselves off as. They just so happened to have the power to free and pass along any souls they came across. That was their job; it didn't mean it came from altruistic reasoning. The Quincy massacre, the living state for Rukongai residence, the divide between the 'haves' and 'have not'. These were all the reminders he needed to see to know that Soul Society was not the heaven the word envisioned; instead, it was just a white shambling parody of the genuine article's splendor.
Another sigh escaped him, "I can practically feel the thunderstorm…" Ichigo muttered, readily able to feel the clouds darkening the horizon of his inner world, while torrential rainfall battered the glass and steel of the buildings and drenched the clothes and flesh of the cities lone inhabitant. Chancing a glance over his shoulder, he looked at the giant blade strapped to his back. "I know keep moving forward…" he then looked back over the glowing skyline. 'Easier said than done…'
His musing was broken when he heard the clanking of steps on the ladder. Looking over, he saw his wife hunching over as she placed her foot on the rooftop. "Hey Lin." He greeted wearily, a tired smile on his face.
She returned it as best she could. "Hey yourself." She then walked over and stood beside him, also resting her hands on the cold steel railing. She shot him a concerned glance. "Are you okay?"
Her husband let out a low deprecating laugh. "Yeah, I'm peaches and rainbows, huha."
Shaolin smirked, as she hung her head. "Right. Dumb question." Turning around, she leaned her back against the cold metal. "So do you know what you want to do?"
Ichigo closed his eyes defeatedly. He had anticipated her asking that, as soon as she arrived and, to his dismay, he still didn't have an answer to give her. "I thought so." He heard the slight disappointment and reluctance in her voice. "Well, Ichigo…"
'Here it comes.' He braced himself, having silently counted down, when she'd step in with some rhetoric about his lack of solidarity, before helping to pull himself together.
"Would you like to discuss it?"
The man turned in her direction, surprised by what she was insinuating. "Discuss it? I half expected you to yell at me for even considering it."
The woman placed a hand against her chin, as she looked over to a nearby billboard, thinking over her words. "No." she said finally, "I don't blame you for hesitating. This isn't a simple matter of right or wrong. Your decision will mean the deaths of thousands; I'd actually be more concerned if you just made a decision without pause." The woman looked back at him; she was about to say something when an amusing thought occurred to her. Pausing to give it some regard, she let out a chuckle when she found it to be true. "Hmm, now that I think about it, it's rather ironic. As of this moment, you are god." She said her lips curved into a wry smile.
Pushing himself off the railing, he turned fully toward her. "How do you figure that?" Ichigo asked confused by her strange metaphor.
The steely-eyed woman looked at him patiently. "Aside from the fact that you will determine who will sit on the throne of heaven?" she asked rhetorically, before continuing her observation. "Your decision will determine the sway of this war: of those who will live and die. In that respect, you are playing god." The good wife then took a few steps closer, lifting up three fingers just a few inches away from her cheek. "From what I can see there are three options before you: Stay with Soul Society, Leave the conflict unaffiliated, or Join Aizen."
Ichigo shook his head, disappointedly. "The way you say it makes them sound equally horrible." He groaned
Shaolin nodded her head, understanding why he said that, it was the truth. "Every decision will have it's consequences, both good and ill."
"Yet you leave it to me to decide." The man replied slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the situation. "I presume for the both of us?" another nod. "Why exactly?" Ichigo asked his silent wife.
The woman crossed her arms, rubbing them with her hands to warm them against the night's cold. "Because I trust and love you above all others. I believe whatever decision you choose is the best decision to be taken."
She then looked down and grasped the hilt of her Zanpaktou. "We both know what the true face of Soul Society looks like, but if we can put aside these misgivings and concentrate on our mission, I'm confident that we can put an end to Aizen's ambition once and for all. The battle against the Arrancar will be long and hard, but victory will secure a world where no one else will suffer from Aizen's machinations ever again. Our world will return to the balance it maintained, before Aizen's uprising. Our allies, the Shinigami of Soul Society, will regard you as the hero that bravely defended the afterlife and all innocent souls in it."
"That's the official story." Ichigo replied knowing better of the situation. While, yes, he'd be a living legend, held in the highest of regards as the slayer of Aizen or facilitator of his downfall, there was more to it than the glitz and glamor, namely…
Almost sensing his thoughts, she continued in a more tired tone. "However, IF Aizen IS right, then is defending a god that simply lets his creations destroy one another truly just? Should we continue doing a job that is just a grandiose version of cleaning up the mess of another, who won't take responsibility for their own actions?"
Her tone drew heavier, as if she was resigning her to the questions their conscience would ask when no one was around. Lingering questions, that given the choice they made, they might never be able to receive or learn an acceptable answer to.
"Given the nature of the reincarnation cycle, should we even exist? Couldn't the spirit king manipulate it to where no Hollows would ever exist instead of maintaining the status quo of Hollows preying on the souls of plus and us being sent to purify the both of them to maintain the balance? Even forgetting the Spirit King, we both know of Soul Societies past dealing with others. Exile, genocide, scapegoating; you, Senna, and I would have to live constantly looking over our shoulders. We may be regarded as stalwart defenders of Seireitei, but that won't save us from others."
"An instant." Soifon then snapped her fingers to illustrate her point. "That's all it takes. One quick word or decision from the central 46 or the Sotaichō and we'd be bound and placed before the Sokyoku, stripped of all our power, the ranks we held, and the freedoms we enjoyed. If they don't kill us outright, I'd imagine that we'd be made prisoners in the maggots nest, or turned into slaves of the system, ready to be executed the moment we step out of line…or we'd be made to slaves to some household, treated little more than objects…or worse." The woman bit her lip bitterly, bad memories coming to the surface. "Personally, I find their ruthlessness hits a little too close to home for me."
The man grunted solemnly, knowing what she meant by that statement. The assassin was deeply reminded of her ancestor's ways. The teaching that those too disobedient to listen or too weak to endure, or in this case detractors of the status quo or fundamentally different from the majority of Shinigami, were to be considered trash, expendable, casually thrown away without regard for prior service or attachments.
He could already hear the rumors that'd be spread in his ears; the whispering of individuals willing to pay lip service when they were around, but would go on and on about how dangerous Ichigo and Senna really were amongst likeminded ilk. That the pair were time bombs ticking away, and needed to either be locked-up before they snapped or turned off.
Permanently.
His thoughts then went to the next victim: Shaolin. Even after the war was long over and peace returned, once they publically came out about their feelings for each other, he was sure they'd be thoroughly chewed out for it. He could hear the court marshals and central 46 damning them for "selfishly putting Soul Society in danger by disrupting the chain of command in a crisis situation". He could just tell that they'd conveniently overlook the fact that his relationship with her had been on of the few reasons they won in the first place, right from the get-go. Even if he then vehemently pointed out how his relationship with her was one of the only things that could win her over and bolster the solidarity of the Shinigami forces in the 'Kurosaki rebellion', or inspired her to take her duties that involved him that much more seriously.
'But no.' he thought, practically hearing their denouncement of his words out of sheer paranoia. They'd try to rationalize themselves, saying that things in that conflict only worked out by the disorganization of the Shinigami and the 'Infil-Traitors' lucky fluke, such an event would never happen a second time around. They would then turn around and say they had every right to scrutinize them. Because now, two of Soul Societies greatest assets, the infamous Ice Queen of Seireitei and the son of the legendary Miracle Worker, could be crippled into inaction, out of fear of something happening to the other, or become blinded by rage, losing sight of the bigger picture, if something did happen.
Another groan escaped him, as Senna, another innocent bystander, compiled his earlier problems with new ones involving her future wellbeing. What would Soul Society do to her once the dust settled, or heaven forbid her origins were exposed? As the daughter of the Miracle Worker and ex-captain of the fourth division, Masaki Kurosaki, would the higher ups in Soul Society, the central 46, the voice of the Spirit king, try to manipulate the naïve girl, force her to abandon her life in the human world, because she was a "threat" that needed to be monitored constantly? Would they secretly try to put a hit on her, as they had done to him during the invasion of Soul Society?
The man felt his blood begin to boil at that thought. It wouldn't be Soul Societies first attempt at trying to do things on the sly. If they were willing to kill, then would they do as his wife mused and try to enslave them? Would they try to experiment on Ichigo and Senna to figure out the 'hows' and 'whys' of a perfect Vizard, maybe even try to replicate one? It certainly seemed like something up Kurotsuchi-Taichō's way from the stories he heard during his tenure at 10. Would the Soul Society allow him to conduct an experiment that dragged them from their home and forced them into separate rooms to have intercourse with other participants in the hopes it produced offspring?
Once word of their relationship inevitably spread, would the experiment extend to include Shaolin as well? Would the captain be stripped of everything she had earned just as the two Vizards had been and taken to some dark, monitored, hole in the wall room at the R&D, selected for mandatory participation due to her history of being safely intimate with meta-Hollows?
Forced into having sex with the infinite number of volunteers/participants for the experiments in the same room, possibly even forced into kissing distance by sick perverted bastards exactly like Omaeda, as his presumably now thoroughly raped, pregnant AND mentally traumatized sister, who could do nothing more than cry -beg for them to 'Please stop!' or shout 'I'm sorry! Forgive me! Just let us go home!' anything to make this all go away.
Shaolin would follow the same fate as her captivity sister with what dignity she could hold onto; as she was initiated just as Senna was before her: Forced to strip herself of her own clothing in a sexy striptease for their viewing pleasure and stir their arousal in anticipation of what was to inevitably follow, ordered on her knees to uncomfortably and submissively stroke and suck others off to their climax, have her promised lips ravaged by her many false lovers that slipped her tongue as she laid on her back while they thrusted deeper into her, throttle every single one of her urges to lash out and hurt the bastards when they covered her face and the rest of her body with the life creating fluids she couldn't or wouldn't swallow down into her stomach, silently take having her sperm covered tits groped and sweat coated ass slapped by the roaming hands of eagerly waiting participants, only allowed to comfort Senna after or during sexual acts involving her in accordance with their fantasies, pant and wheeze as she tried to catch her breath and focus her mind while her body shuddered against her will as they made her constantly reach her limits to pleasure, and then finally to cement her acceptance and degradation of the situation she'd degradingly told each one of her sexual 'partners' that were satisfied with using her body 'Thank-you for contributing to the success of the experiment. Please continue to do so.' with a bright smile forced on to her face, as they proceeded to pass her hyper sensitive body over to the more restless participants that were through with raping her partner Vizard and waiting for a chance with the disgraced captain, like she was just a jizz rag and not a human fucking being.
Eventually, during the hellish orgy, they'd be impregnated, but Mayuri, not one to let things fall to chance, would make absolutely sure that their current treatment continued for a few extra days. 'For the sake of assured fertilization of their eggs and the creation of a new Vizard' he'd say, neither woman would be given any rest. Aside from the necessity of sleep to let them have energy for their day, disposal of bodily wastes, and perhaps food, likely drugged with ovulation medicine to speed things along and supplements to keep their bodies tight and at the height of sexual fitness despite taking the many different types of cocks of participants, every single one of the girl's sexual orifices would be constantly pumped full of the fresh powerful sperm they expertly milked and collected inside their bodies that day, creating a veritable unending sea of unique human essence swimming freely in their wombs, ready to swarm and implant itself on the first ripe ovum either defiant protestant woman inevitably surrendered to biology and science.
THEN, once it was finally confirmed, beyond all shadow of a doubt, that the woman was going to have a child, she'd be forced to carry the child or children of some man, or possibly female hermaphrodite if they branched out, that she likely didn't know, or worse in Senna and Shaolin's case someone they knew and hated like Omaeda or Mayuri himself. This was still assuming that the girl in question wasn't still forced into having intercourse, before she gave birth to said child almost a year later which, just to pour salt on the wounds of her broken pride as a human being and newly awakened maternal instincts, would most likely be taken away before she could hold, even name her child, since the 'distraction' as Central-46 would proclaim, 'prevented her from focusing on her new duties of creating Vizards.'
And so the dark cycle of Vizard creation would continue, until the trio ran out of eggs, or in Ichigo's case sperm, or they died of exhaustion; although, Mayuri would probably try to prevent that outcome, at least until he was satisfied with the research and data they provided; which, given the possible limits of abilities and combination of genetic structure just between having the trio intermingling with each other to establish a few baseline generations, -never mind the possible hundreds, if not thousands, of men forced on the exhausted girls that were successful in their mission of leaving them their legacy in their stomachs, or the coerced or cloned women tossed at the blue-balled Ichigo, medicated into a sexual craze- would take at most a few centuries, MAYBE a Millennia or two.
In short: it would never end.
An eerie chill ran down his spine, colder than even the breeze of the autumn night. What if they took thing one step further after destroying the trio's lives, by also trying to weaponize the children created by the mad scientist's government sponsored program, turning the stolen away children into soulless emotionally-deprived Vizards charged with defending the organization that created their unholy existence?
"Ugh…" the man placed the palm of his hand over one of his eyes, annoyance visible. "Problems a plenty…" he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to keep his spiritual energy and anger in check.
"Well, maybe." The less imaginative woman replied; her head tilted to one side, as she considered some of the prospective consequences of this outcome. "But, I'm sure we can weather them. Our loyalty has to count for something, right?" She kindly offered, as her hand slowly pried the one on his face away. When she saw he looked no more consoled, she decided to shift his attention away by informing them of the other obvious choice. "On the flipside, we could join Aizen."
"Aizen…"
Ichigo closed his eyes as he thought it over. Joining Aizen would probably be the second easiest option of the three. Between the veritable hybrid army known as the Arrancar, Kyoka Suigetsu's impenetrable illusions, the Hogyoku AND him, Sen, and Lin, three captain strength Shinigami, aiding the mastermind Sosuke Aizen and suddenly things turned grim for Soul Society.
The only indisputable threats Ichigo could see would be: the Sotaichō, the supreme commander of all Shinigami and master of all arts. Kyoraku, one of Yamamoto's students and unlike his partner Ukitake, possessed a healthy constitution. Urahara, the man with a mind to rival Aizen and creator of the Hogyoku. Yoruichi, the shape-shifting goddess of flash and master assassin, who'd be undermining their efforts with sabotage and subterfuge. And finally, Unohana, the sole student and successor of Ichigo's mother, a magnificent healer and friend to the trio.
Still…while they would be hard targets, they'd be fighting a losing battle, simply not having the numbers to mount any significant counterattack. It would just be a matter of time, before the Arrancar army quashed the threats through attrition and took housing in the Seireitei. Resting until it regained its impressive strength, before turning its attention to the spirit king himself, if he truly existed.
With total victory over Soul Society assured and Sosuke Aizen placed on the throne as ruler, a new world, a fair era for humanity, could finally begin. Ichigo's reward for his services? Not only would he regain some of the most important people he lost to get where he stood today, but he'd and his loved ones would have a place in the world of tomorrow, a home.
If Aizen was sincere about the sentiments he had about his mother, then he could be sure that the incumbent god would hold up his end and return her back to life. He and his wife, Shaolin, would also be reunited with the latter's surrogate siblings, Shinjiro Taiga and Subaru Kujo, further solidifying the trios resolve towards Aizen. Speaking of reuniting, his father, Isshin, or Ein, was, according to Shinigami reports and Kukaku's story, with Aizen in Hueco Mundo, so by siding with the man Senna was bound to be happy to know that he was okay.
His thought then turned back to his family as a whole. In Aizen's army and the future world, he wouldn't have to worry about his status as a half-Shinigami half-Hollow causing misgivings. He'd be celebrated as a hero that fought against the tyrannical oppression of others and changed the world. For once, his loved ones, the people he wanted to protect, could live their lives in relative peace.
"But…" Ichigo muttered, as the cons were once again in the back of his mind, drowning the earlier propaganda.
Assuming the whole invitation really wasn't just an elaborate bait to lure them to Hueco Mundo to kill them, then siding with Aizen would also mean betraying Soul Society, which in turn meant he'd have to fight some of his friends.
Toshiro Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, Retsu Unohana, Rukia Kuchiki, while he knew in his head that he could theoretically find and subdue them; preventing them from becoming casualties. Deep down in his heart, he knew that they would never be able to look at him the same way again. No matter how many reasons he told or times he explained why it was perhaps the best possible outcome, he could just envision them tiredly looking at him, their eyes saying what their mouths could not, over and over again.
'I trusted you.'
His thoughts turned inwardly, as he thought about the people he'd met, who had given their lives to help him survive so far, their deaths would remain unavenged. The images of Ganju Shiba, boldly flexing his poverty-earned muscles, and Hanataro Yamada, smiling apologetically after tripping, flared in his mind.
His heart sank at the implications. Sure, he'd get something out of it, but what of the others? Aizen surely wouldn't have the time, the patience, or assured loyalty of the requesters, to ensure a mass revival of the newly deceased. So the question became: How many?
How many would lose friends or family? How many Isane Kotetsus would he see praying at the cemeteries, hoping their friends finally found peace after dying alone and afraid? How many Kukaku Shibas would he see sitting in their unlit living rooms alone, drinking their sorrows away, eyes occasionally flitting towards the door, waiting for someone who would not come? How many Sennas would he see trying to keep the pain of loss bottled up, hidden behind a stoic expression or a painted up smile? How many Shaolins would he see, their lives flipped upside down and the personalities and ideals they once held shattered and broken all because of him?
How many?
His expression darkened further when he also considered that such actions would mean going against his vows as a Shinigami, charged with defending humanity. To allow Aizen's ascent he would knowingly allow the people of Karakura, innocent souls, people he swore to protect, to be sacrificed; if he was willing to relinquish not only the lives of those underneath him, but his own solemn word as man, what other price would he have to pay?
Even if he could get his conscience to rationalize it as a necessary sacrifice for long-term human gain, even if he could conceivably know that they'd be brought back when the dust settled, he knew that he'd have to convince Senna to see it that way as well. His free-spirited sister was raised on earth, even if she technically was a soul class individual, she made a life there and considered herself a human being at heart.
It wasn't much of a stretch for Ichigo to see her reaction being both angry and afraid that he'd go down this path, if Aizen hadn't swayed her opinion much. Ichigo would certainly have to think hard on the words he'd use to get her to see things his way, since she'd put up a lot of resistance to the idea of sitting back and allow them –her people- to die right before her eyes. He'd have very little emotional leverage, using her love of him wouldn't work due to her principals and conflicting emotion regarding him at that point and trying the family card was a bit of a double edged sword. His best bet would be a logical approach that detailed how and why it was better this way, but still contained human interest and empathy, her understandably concerns in that world. Failure to do so and the alternative would be…
The man shook his head, stopping the trail of though right there. He already lost a mother to a Hollow and a father to chance, even if they were on opposite sides and fought, he would never commit to slaying his sister in cold blood.
"What was our third option again?" he asked; practically nauseous from the first two fucked up choices and was hoping for some salvation in the third.
"Our third option would be to do as Aizen says and vacate the combat zone."
Apparently, salvation's brother, damnation, came with a letter reading 'F-U, Ichigo.' instead.
"Run away." He replied flatly.
"No." Shaolin corrected, wagging a finger tauntingly. "Contrary to what you might think there is a difference between: being sensible and knowing when to bow out graciously and being a self-serving coward. 'Running away', as you say, means abandoning one's problems and pretending to ignore it, hoping it goes away. We, on the other hand, have discussed and assessed the situation, weighing each option carefully on it merits, before deciding to disengage the situation to its natural resolution. We'd be making a decision of neutrality, and, considering the fact of Soul Societies eminent betrayal of you and Senna, I'd think leaving them to face Aizen alone would not only be poetic justice, but fair, as neither side will have an overwhelming advantage."
The woman shrugged her shoulders, nonchalantly. "Of course, by cutting our ties, we won't be able to return to Soul Society, regardless of the war's outcome. If the Shinigami win, we're traitors and deserters, if they lose, I doubt Aizen would be happy to see us and might consider our resurgence as going back on her word."
"(Groan) If this is the good news, don't tell me the bad." He wheezed exasperatedly, his tone bringing an amused smile to his wife's face.
"The silver lining, Aìrén," she said with a small giggle, "would be that we'd be free to do what we want for the rest of our long lives here." Her smile disappeared as she returned to her usual serious disposition. "So long as we remain in the material world, generally outside Aizen's domain, we can go wherever we want. If you want to stay in Japan, we can. If you want us to move to my ancestor's homeland, we can. If you want to live on an island in the middle of the Caribbean, we can."
The woman shrugged as she tilted to her one-side as if considering something, "Sure, we might have to conceals ourselves and conform a bit to day-to-day human necessity, like getting a job, paying bills, or learning new languages, but we can have something we've never had before. Peace. You, Senna, and me, we can all live together in one place, never again having to deal with thoughts related to war or death. It…" the battle-hardened woman's eyes filled with a sense of longing. "It is a tempting thought."
Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately afterward. He already knew the answer to what he was going to say and what she would likely parrot as well. 'People will die no matter what; I'm going to have to accept that.' He thought to himself.
Taking a step closer to Shaolin, he touched her cheek with his hands, a tired expression on his face. "You've said 'we' a lot. Don't you have an opinion on the matter, Love?"
The young captain quirked her brow, surprised by his question, but complied with his request, if the answer would help him out. "Yes, I do." She replied with gentle nod, before, just as slowly, shaking her head negatively. "However; it is strictly: I don't trust either faction of the war."
"Okay, so run away?" he surmised, trying to read between the lines.
"I didn't say that Ichigo." She replied as she mirrored his earlier action and touched his cheek. "I said I don't trust either the forces of Soul Society or the forces of Aizen, but I do place my trust in you and will follow you down the choice you make. Whatever you decide-
"Will drag you down with me if I fuck it up!" he argued, his hand dropping away to his side. "Ah…" his breath hitched, seeing what he did, he looked away shamefully. "Sorry, Lin. I didn't mean that…just frustrated." He apologized.
The woman could tell that wasn't all of the problem. "Is it really just 'frustration' Ichigo? Or is it more?" she coaxed.
He glanced back at her, his eyes tracing her knowing look, before returning them to his feet. "No…I'm just…scared that I'll make the wrong decision. I'm okay with laying my life down, but having others…you get hurt because of me. I don't want that on my conscience." He confided to his wife, feeling like a scared child admitting a wrongdoing to a parent, rather than a confident Shinigami and team leader.
The woman continued to stroke her distressed husband's cheek, trying to ease his nerves. Sliding her hand away, she reached down and clasped his hands as he stared at the ground. "Ichigo," she whispered lovingly, "For better or worse, we're partners now." The captain then pulled both their hands towards her, lightly pressing them against her still flat stomach, the resting place of their future joy. "And for this one too."
The young hero perked up at what she said, confused and curious. He saw the demure bemusement and joy behind her small kind smile, before he looked back at the spot where their hands were connected. 'And for this one too.' As her words echoed in the recesses of his mind, realization finally settled in and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
"Shaolin…" he whispered the name of the now blushing Tsundere with a barely contained smile. "You're…?"
The red-faced girl had a sideways smile on her face, her eyes were successfully diverting away from the man's face, lest she burn with even more embarrassment…or was it passion and pride that lit her up? She wasn't sure. "Yes, that's part of the reason why. But…" she looked him in the eye to show how serious she was…
But, she didn't get to finish speaking as Ichigo swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal style in his arms. The joyous man spun the surprised woman around in a circle, a contented laugh on his lips that even she found herself joining in. Slowing his body back down, he stared deeply at his diminutive lover, her expression playful and uncaring that his prior reaction and treatment of her fell into the hated 'pampered princess' category, all that there was, all that he could see, was a woman unbidden giving all her love and adoration to him.
Leaning down slowly, he almost smirked when he saw her melt as he captured his lips. The pair's lips broke away and reunited in a quick tempo, Shaolin wrapping her arms around his neck, while he snuggled the arms upholding her body closer. Breaking away from yet another brief but hot touch, Shaolin touched her forehead against his and continued her prior train of thought.
"Ichigo…you've done so much for this world. For me. I don't want you to shoulder that burden alone. You're not invincible, no one is. So this time: be weak, be selfish with your choice, be human, Aìrén! Let me protect you. I WANT to protect you. I want to protect Senna. I want to protect our children. I want to protect the world you envision, the one worth saving. I don't want you to think that whatever decision you make today will condemn us and the people around us to death; rather, think of the decision as the world that we will live in together."
Slowly one at a time, the captain removed her legs from his grasp, but kept her eyes firmly on his, as she allowed herself to stand up beside him, pressing her body ever so closely against him, her hero.
"Other people will use the cause of 'Defending the world' as a grand excuse to get other to die for them." She said calmly; only to then shake her head. "But not you. Even if they are strangers that you've barely met, you value their lives and are reluctant in forcing them to spill their blood any more than necessary. That is an admirable quality. It's what makes you a leader among men and the reason people turn to you and listen to you and are willing to follow you, much as I do!"
The girl fell silent as the cold night air swept by them, ruffling their clothing. A soothing ambience to contrast the initial point of this rooftop meeting. "That's why…" the solemn creamy skinned captain said, "That's why even if we choose the wrong decision this night, even if we becomes the enemies of the world, I'll protect you for as long as I live, as I know you will do for me." She then leaned in and planted another fleeting kiss, "That's why Aìrén…" she whispered lovingly, "I love you and will never abandon you, we're family."
The woman's words brought a smile to his lips, as he could feel the storm of uncertainty subside in his inner world. He had finally come to a decision. "Well, I'll be…you finally came out and said 'I love you'; although, I think you did mention you'd never love a traitor." He jeered playfully.
"That-yooou." The girl puffed up her cheeks, mock ire dancing through her posture. She then let out a calming breath, seeing that he was trying to rile her up, well unfortunately, she wasn't going to sink to that level. Crossing her arms over the chest of her uniform, she huffed to herself, her haughty commander smirk on her face. "Well…you're a hero to me." She said matter-of-factly. Seeing him quirk a brow curiously, her devilish grin grew. "So, your argument is null and void!"
"Oh, really now? And what makes your opinion so empowering, oh noble princess?" he asked, his response dripping with sarcasm.
"Because, I'm Shaolin Kurosaki, your very proud wife! And as your wife I have the divine right to say that you, Ichigo Kurosaki, are whatever the hell I say you should be!"
"Ahahaha!" the man chuckled to himself, smirk widening by the second. "What a bossy queen you've become! Maybe I should shut you up with a kiss."
"You wouldn't dare, little boy." She flirted back, her taunt practically declaring how much she'd truly enjoy another kiss.
"Ooh, I dare."
As he was leaning down to capture the feisty captain's lips, he caught sight of a movement out of the corner of his eye. Keeping thoughts of Soul Societies agents possible approaching them in mind, he made a small familiar signal with his free hand as he looked past the woman, knowing she'd recall it's meaning and act stereotypically for their unexpected guests.
That was when he fully spotted Senna hunched over the top of the ladder, one knee planted against the graphite, while her other limbs were bracing against the cold steel. Judging by the stillness of her body, it seemed she had come up at somewhat inopportune time, but didn't want to move for fear of breaking the serious conversation…
Or maybe it was the flirting lovebirds part that made her feel out of place…he wasn't quite sure.
However, now that she felt the man's eyes on her, she let out the breath she had been holding in for some time. "Sorry about ruining the mood." She apologized, as she stepped onto the rooftop. The woman seemed nervous, though that was probably a given considering the way he left after Aizen's invitation.
"It's fine. We were just reaching a bit of a conclusion." He informed the young woman. Hearing the word conclusion, made her shift uncomfortably. He could see that she had reached her own decision on how best to handle the situation and came to discuss and compare, possibly even try to persuade them to favor one action over another.
That was the determined front he could see and a small part of him was glad to see her ready to stand up; however, his more dominant instincts saw beyond that and saw the girl his sister was. She didn't want to push the tentative issue; afraid of the answer, the possible outcome, that their decision wasn't the same as hers, or more horrifically that their differences of opinion were irreconcilable. She would be alone…and it had frightened her deeply.
"Ichigo…" she stuttered out, unsure how to proceed. It was then that he knew what he had to do. "I think we-"
Ichigo pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Shaolin. "So you're going to be an aunt according to Lin-chan." He interrupted, forcing the girl's words to die in her throat. He then started walking towards her. "Since we've got a few hours, before meeting up with whoever Aizen sent, why don't I make some dinner to celebrate being alive?"
Senna tilted her head curiously, as to why Ichigo was suddenly saying these things at random. When he got next to her, he placed his hand on the top of her head and ruffled her hair. "I see Shaolin gave you a haircut too." A wire thin smile appeared on his lips. "Well, at least she improved over hers."
Said woman feigned annoyance, as she walked over. "I can still hear you."
The man jutted his thumb at the eighteen year old. "Senna said it." He replied, quick to shift the blame on the dumbstruck girl.
Luckily for her, the captain wasn't buying it. "You'd blame this sweet innocent girl for your crimes?" the shook her head, but maintained her playful smile. "For shame, I thought you a hero!"
"Aaaassassiiins don't fight faaaaiir!" He playfully sang out his occupation.
The young woman looked between the two of them strangely, before she felt her lips turn upward into a smile. They were joking around. They were trying to blow off the seriousness that they had no doubt felt earlier, the same seriousness her arrival had brought back in. It was…nice of them. "Ahaha," a giggle escaped the human world Shinigami, "Yeah, you're right, Shaolin. But, he DOES need to have some flaws, he's not Mr. Perfect."
'Mr. Perfect' scoffed as he started to make his way to the ladder. "It's not like I'm making you dinner or anything, or have saved you both more than once." As he placed his foot on the metal rung and began his decent, he gave them one final smirk. "Come on, sometime today ladies." He called out to them before disappeared below the roof line.
The two women smiled brightly as they slowly made their way to the ladder.
Forgetting their troubles, if only for just a little while.
(Four hours later.)
Back in Shinigami form, Ichigo pulled out the device Aizen had given them. The beeping red dot was still in the same area as last time. "You ready?" he asked as he looked behind him to his two compatriots.
"Good to go!" Senna replied cheerfully in her spirit form. After dinner, the trio sat down to discussed their respective decisions, each person speaking about their fears about the other choices. It was a tense affair, but things remained civil, even as they talked over the pros of certain choices. Still, while it had taken sometime and careful examination of evidence, the couple successfully convinced her to seeing why the decision Ichigo made was the best way forward.
"Whenever you're ready." Shaolin nodded, as she adjusted her Onimitsukido outfit, having left her Taichō Haori behind in case it caused their rendezvous to attack them by mistake.
Ichigo cracked his knuckles briefly, before turning forward. "Alright, remember their Arrancar, so no sudden moves."
The trio then disappeared in a flurry of flash step, coming out in the middle of the school's track field. Looking around the area without abandoning their formation, they saw nothing out of sight. Chancing a glance at the electronic device, he saw that his avatar was besides the red dot. "Should be right-"
He stopped when he saw a small black hole appear in front of him. The hole expanded outwardly, before disappearing, dropping in its place three women, who crashed against the ground.
"Ah, damn it! That was lame." The blue haired one laying on the top of the crumpled pile said, as she turned herself over to get a good look at him, holding a device similar to his. "Oh, this must be the gu-OH SHIT! AMBUSH!"
"Then get off us so we can fight." The pale woman with long black hair replied, as she shoved at her heterochromia fellow off her body.
"Both of you, get off!" the third darker and most scantily clad of the group barked.
"This is who Aizen sent?" Senna asked as she looked over to Ichigo, who was deadpanning at the clumsy trio.
"I guess…" he replied, as he stepped forward. "Hey, I'm just here to talk."
Once the three women straightened themselves out of their crumpled mess, they stood in a line. Franceska and Cyan kept an eye on the two extra Shinigami, while Emilou kept a wary gaze on the man. "We were told about you." she said, before her eyes drifted away from him. "Not them."
"Aizen had a change of plans when he saw us with him, so he extended his gracious invitation to us as well." Soifon answered, as she too eyed the dark skinned woman cautiously.
"I take it you're the leader than Ms…?" Ichigo inquired getting the woman to look back at him.
"Emilou Apacci." She nudged her head to her left. "Cyan Sung-sun." then did the same to her right. "Franceska Mila-rose."
"Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Soifon."
"Senna."
"And we're here to give an answer to Aizen." Ichigo said before taking a step away from then. "The answer is no. We won't join him."
When the trio heard his answer, their hands instantly grasped the hilts of their Zanpaktous, an action mimicked by the female Shinigami. Only Ichigo remained unmoving as the two groups stared off. The young man glanced at the women beside him, before raising a hand level to his chest and then lower it down slowly, signaling them to stand down, which they did confusing Harribel's three beasts. "That was close." Ichigo said with a carefree smile.
"You can try to act more concerned when people pick a fight, Ichigo." His kid sister chastised as she sheathed her Asauchi. "Although, I really don't see why they got hostile in the middle of enemy territory."
Mila-rose snorted, "It's cause were Hollows, fighting is what we do." She replied sarcastically, knowing what Shinigami thought of them.
To their surprise, they received yet another unconventional answer. "Hollows aren't mindless creatures. They have dreams of their own." She raised her hand, pointing at the group. "You're proof of that."
As the fraccion looked at each other in disbelief at having their personal existence outside of their Hollow nature acknowledged, Sung-sun turned in their direction, lips hidden behind her white sleeves. "You're…letting us go? Just like that?"
"Yeah." Ichigo replied, placing his hand in his pockets. "Our problem isn't with you, it's with your master Sosuke Aizen." The man then turned around and started walking away. "Still, sad to see your loyalty wasted on him, but what can you do? Take care you three; hopefully, we don't have to fight."
As the other two Shinigami turned and followed behind the man, the three Arrancar were left in stunned silence. They had come in expecting the worse; believed that, if negotiations fell through, they'd have a fight on their hands. Instead, he tells 'no hard feelings' and walked away. They could actually see why Aizen might want him on their side.
And were now just a little sad to see him go.
"Thank-you, Kurosaki-san." Apacci said head bowed respectfully, as the man she gave thanks for was long out of earshot and walking further away.
The other two quickly followed their friends lead in expressing their gratitude. When the three Shinigami were gone. Mila-rose snapped her finger and opened up a gargantua for them to leave and report back to Aizen.
(Later: Hueco Mundo)
Sitting on his throne, Sosuke rapped his fingers against the arm of his chair, patient but anxious. He was waiting for Harribel's fraccion to return with hopefully favorable news, or better yet, Ichigo with them. The man perked up when he saw the door to his chamber open up, but he soon slumped his shoulders again when he saw it was Harribel. The Espada had a colder look in her eyes than normal, which meant she'd found out about her fraccion's part of the mission.
"My fraccion have returned from the world of the living, Aizen-sama." She reported, but did not kneel like usual.
Aizen paid it no mind and continued as casually as ever. "And were there any new members in their group or some message to give me?" he inquired
The teal-eyed woman shook her head, "They said he remains with Soul Society."
A long heavy sigh escaped the man's throat, disappointment evident in his posture. "Such a pity, but alas."
Crossing her arms over her impressive chest, the cold but irritated Espada decided to get some answers of her own. "Aizen-sama, would you care to explain to me why you sent my fraccion without my consent? I was already a willing participant of your plan, I would have gladly returned to Karakura again."
Sosuke closed his eyes and nodded his head, hearing her words and her argument. He sat there for a few seconds, before getting up off his throne and slowly walking down to meet her. "You make a good point, Harribel. However, my plan today was little more than a gamble. It had risks and no guarantee for a reward."
The man paused and lifted a hand open palm up, "Grimmjow was an Espada that was nearly killed upon first entering the combat zone. Antenor was a former Espada and she died to help see your mission through. You must understand that as a commander I must prioritize the lives of the individuals I send out. On your first foray into the human world, you had support, this time you would be alone, and if you were discovered, you would die alone."
Aizen crouched down and sat upon the stairs, remaining eye level with the woman "As much as you may not wish to accept it, your fraccion are more expendable then you are: that's why I sent them. If they died, it would be a regrettable, but manageable loss."
The woman before him continued to glare at him as she considered what he was saying. When her shoulder slumped ever so slightly, Aizen knew she agreed with his point. "Every life is precious, Aizen. That's why some of us are fighting." She chided, before dropping her hands to her side. "I understand that you enacted this plan to gain an ally that would help mitigate the losses I speak of. I can respect that, but please don't go behind someone's back to do it, Aizen-sama. People have friends who worry."
"I understand and I will try to adhere to that in the coming war, but you must understand sacrifices must be made." Aizen reminded as he got up from his make shift seat. Harribel agreed, before bidding him farewell and leaving him.
Another sigh escaped him as the would-be god placed his hands on his hips. Once again, the man slipped through his fingers, it truly was a shame that men of their caliber, men of such promise, were forced to try and end the other's life instead of grasping the reigns of destiny together.
"Only way to win now is to cross the barrier ourselves." The man muttered, his thoughts drifting back to the Hogyoku. Reflecting on its success rate, he smiled to himself darkly, as he turned his full attention to the battle ahead. "Still a practice run would be prudent."
It was time for war.
(Post-fic banter)
[Toshiro: Still a captain, still short. Still considered Ichigo's friend despite hardly being shown to hang out.]
[Rangiku: Still doesn't get enough screen time.]
[Grimmjow: Has an attitude that matches his poor leadership skills. Do not insinuate that he jacks off with a woman's touch.]
[Ulquiorra: Quite capable of juggling and singing songs. His business as a birthday clown is unusual bad despite his talents.]
[Yamamoto: Craggy old man that bounces between being a hard old man and Aizen aged up. Masaki used to serve him tea and give massages back in the day.]
[Kisuke: Currently unavailable as he's waging war on the 'Kurotsuchi scientific emporium'…support your local shady inventors-revealed-to-be-exiled-Shinigami. Buy Kisuke.]
[Isshin: Do not allow him and Masaki to be in the same room together. Their sickening sweetness is powerful enough to rot spiritually enforced teeth.]
[Nemu: An android that is technically the younger sister unit to Kisuke's Ururu. Has shown stalker like tendencies to a certain Quincy, explaining it as quantifying experiment of the 'Urahara charm', much to Mayuri's chagrin.]
(Post-fic banter end)
Author reminder: For those of you that choose to leave a review (or PM), I would like to hear what you would have had Ichigo do when forced to make his choice in this chapter. Your feedback is important to me. Again, thank-you for reading the story.
-Sincerely,
Blackout2010.
